[7] The library system is governed by a board of trustees consisting of seven members appointed by the Cranston City Council.

The building originally boasted 22,500 square feet on three and a half acres of land, with a capacity for 110,000 volumes.

[12] The Central Library offers the community an inviting children's room, a teen space, public computers for all ages, and a range of programs and instructional technology classes.

[19][18] It also added a branch in the Cranston Print Works Brick Store, which lasted for 50 years until the building was demolished.

[20][30] The Honorable Jonathan F. Comstock and Richard Nixon, head of the local volunteer fire company, are credited with its establishment.

The books were donated by members of the Oak Lawn Village neighborhood of Cranston, most notably Reverend William A. Briggs of the Oak Lawn Baptist Church, and were supplemented by government publications and materials purchased with funds raised by women in the village.

[17] After struggling due to a lack of materials, funds, and a permanent home, Reverend Briggs acquired the school building on Wilbur Avenue, across the street from his church, and formed the Oak Lawn Free Public Library Association.

[17] It underwent construction in 1965 to create space for a children's library, then again in 1990 for the addition of a new entrance and reading room.

[39] It was incorporated in 1896 as the Edgewood Free Library and was renamed in 1921 after local businessman William H. Hall bequeathed part of his estate to its development.

[40][20] The building was completed in 1927 and served as the administrative center for the newly unified Cranston Public Library system from 1966 to 1983.

[43] At one point, the library had a branch in the Pawtuxet Volunteer Fire Company Hall on the corner of Sheldon and Commercial Streets.

[78] Cranston Public Library's online catalog allows members to browse and place holds on books, audiobooks, DVDs, CDs, and other materials.

[83] In 2017, Cranston Public Library introduced its Cool Tools collection, funded by a grant from the Taco/White Family Foundation.

[100] In 2016, community organizations held 425 programs in the Cranston Central Public Library meeting room.

[95][101] Cranston Public Library offers a variety of services to local educators, including class visits for research help or introducing students to new technology, guest readers, access to online homework help, and resources for lessons or school projects.

[112] In 2014, in response to Rhode Island's having the highest statewide unemployment rate in the nation, the Cranston Public Library, Providence Public Library, and other organizations developed Rhode Island Adult Lifelong Learning (ALL) Access, a computer training and workforce development program offered through the libraries’ learning lounges, dedicated drop-in computer spaces staffed by an adult educator and volunteers.

[67] In June 2015, Cranston Public Library was acknowledged by the Holocaust Education and Resource Center of Rhode Island (HERCRI) with a Mitzvah (or “Good Deeds”) Award in recognition of an ongoing collaboration between the two organizations.

Cranston Public Library is a member of Ocean State Libraries,[115] the Greater Cranston Chamber of Commerce, the Rhode Island Genealogical Society, and the Rhode Island Family Literacy Initiative (RIFLI).